"Dont go beyond, no matter how much you feel you need to, Doctor. The barrier was not made to be broken. Remember this: there is more power here than you know. It is old and always restless. Remember."
Beware of entering the forest at dusk, and much more, burying your loved ones in the cemetary that lies in its heart. For malignum beings, long ago forgotten, dwell between the murky, twisted trees.
If you are the kind of guy who likes to play a Warlock in WOW or a witch doctor in Diablo 3, blowing your dogs up or sacrificing your own allies to summon a demon; the guy who likes to play cool creatures without having to care if that fucking control deck your opponent is using will play a Supreme Verdict? Then this deck is for you.
T1 drops:
Young Wolf: The basic unit. Play it before Retribution of the Ancients and Hardened Scales if you plan on attacking first. If you wanna stay defensive on turn 1, first play Hardened Scales, so when it dies on turn 2, it comes as a 3/3.
Retribution of the Ancients: This is the cog that makes the circle of death's wheel go round and round. Take the +1+1 counters from your pets, kill any pesky blocker on the way, and allow your pets to return safe and sound from the cold leafy soil. If there are no intruders around the forest, you must choose wisely which of your pets can hold those -1-1 for the turn.Before casting a spell, be sure to always leave one black mana free, so you can resurrect your boys.
Hardened Scales: It's the royal cannin for the restless. Brings them back stronger, shamblier and with extra teeth. In addition, makes Retribution of the Ancients more effective, and grows Champion of Lambholdt faster.
Abundant Growth
: Kind of flavorful. It's a cheap way to fix my mana problems, and the extra draw is very welcomed.
EDIT: went for the rich path. added 2x Twilight Mire. The card draw function was transfered to Grim Haruspex
T2:
Scavenging Ooze: I am playtesting it right now. It seems like a very good addition. Gives you life, graveyard hate, and with Hardened Scales, it can grow fast.
EDIT: sideboarded. Still a good option.
Strangleroot Geist
: You've played your Young Wolf on turn 1, so they are both ready to attack. This dreadful spirit shines for his "Haste", which allows you to sacrifice him and having him ready to attack on the same turn.
Butcher Ghoul
: A "meh" card, but fulfills his role. It is easy to drop on the field, and comes handy as a recursive chump blocker or a sac fodder.
Rancor: Since this is a recursive stompy deck, this enchantment often very handy (pun intended).. It doesnt care if your creatures die. You can always re-cast it.
EDIT: took it out. It ended a lot of times as a dead card in my hand.
Soul Reap
: draw fix and undying trigger
T3:
Champion of Lambholt: Though he lacks "undying", his ability will trigger each time your pets come back from the grave, growing him stronger and making the rest of the pack unblockable. Once stacked up, this counters can also be used to give -1-1s to your enemies.
Geralf's Messenger: Not the best card, in my opinion. his BBB manacost competes a lot with my G costs of Young Wolf and
Strangleroot Geist
, and having him enter tapped is a significant downside that i don't know if it becomes compensated by the opponent's lifeloss.
EDIT: I took him out for the time being. His manacost made him difficult to play on the mid-game, posposing him to the late game, where i already have better beaters.
Grim Haruspex: came as my savior to fix my drawing problems. It costs half than Harvester of Souls and Soul of the Harvest (has anyone noticed before what WOTC has done here?) and sports a nice body. Fits the theme, too.
Dreg Mangler
: i have always loved its art. Chosen by its haste ability, so it can attack as soon as you have removed your opponents blockers. Despite its lack of undying, it compensates a little with its scavenge ability, which can be amplified by the Hardened Scales
T4 and T5:
Demonlord of Ashmouth: From time to time, evil entities see a breach from their underworld through the cemetery. The results are the most wrenched, part-animal part-demon abominations emerging from the graves. Their unstable form demands them to quiclky feed on a nearby life, or else, they abruptly decay (see what i did there? ;) )
Ok, so this guy is our heavy beater. The best option for his lunch is
Strangleroot Geist
, since you can sacrifice it and have it all set to attack due to his haste. He contempts with a
Butcher Ghoul
nevertheless.
Corpsejack Menace: To be honest, i added thid dude 95% because of the flavor and theme. But I accept suggestions for replacements. His ability has certain convenience, but isn't essential to this deck. Hardened Scales does the same, for less and earlier. If removed, it isn't a great loss; but the Fungus is. Maybe I should try to balance the amount of both cards that i put in the deck.A 4/4 isn't bad either.
EDIT: took him out. Still a viable option, though.
Vorapede
: Albeit no ones pet, this creepy crawler has engulfed so many unholy corpses while tilling the cemetery's soil, that now it has become a harbinger of its curse. Better carry more than an insect repelent with you.
Trample, Vigilance, Undying. This beauty has all the tools to be an ardent defender and a reckless predator.
Removal:
Bone Splinters
: In this deck, it might be the best removal spell. Blow up your pets, clear the path, and have them come back instantly. Warning: Well fed pets tend to just stay dead, so make sure they don't have any +1+1 counters on!
EDIT: added a wider diversity of removal to be more flexible when facing indestructible targets.
Grave Betrayal: Thanks BlurrySC for the suggestion; it fits the theme magnificently, triggers often, and gets around hexproof and indestructible.
Tragic Slip: gets around indestructible. It is specially useful on turn 1 and 2 in the cases when you still havent got a pet and you target manadorks or combo enablers. Its morbid effect also triggers often.
Languish: ahhh, the flavor of the art! An animal dying in what it seems to be a mire!A good mass removal that doesnt care about regeneration. Your pets don t mind dying, too.
Shock lands appart, this is a pretty cheap deck, so give it a try! Any suggestions are welcome! But please keep in mind that they MUST maintaint the flavor of the deck, even if that makes them a little bit less competitive.